Liberty
Matters News Service
September 2, 2005
White House Cooperative Conservation Conference
The White House just concluded the Cooperative Conservation Conference in St. Louis, Missouri where attendees heard from several branches of our government. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns told the crowd that USDA will offer re-enrollment and extensions of the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) contracts that currently affect more than 28 million acres of agriculture land. Johanns actually said CRP programs help keep farms and ranches from falling into developers hands and that forest protection programs sustain more than 400 million acres of private forests. The NRCS Ranch Land Protection Program and Grassland Reserve Program protects 300,000 acres of working farms and ranches and 300,000 acres of grasslands. "The President's Wetlands Initiative" will ensure one million acres of wetlands are registered in the next five years while improving and protecting another two million acres. Retired Navy Vice Admiral Conrad C. Lautenbacher Jr., Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere, unveiled the President's new program; the "Open Rivers Initiative (OPI)." OPI will provide grants to communities committed to removing "obsolete and derelict stream barriers" (that's dams, in English). The Nature Conservancy's president Steven McCormick bragged about TNC's partnership with the Pentagon to acquire private land and funding for buffer zones around military bases, but Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfield warned that environmental protections are not always compatible with military objectives. "When those concerns are not balanced, the consequences can be unfortunate," Rumsfield said.Bush Administration Announces Open Rivers Initiative
Bush Touts "Cooperative Conservation"
Supreme Court Won't Reconsider Kelo
The Supreme Court was asked to re-hear the controversial Kelo v. New London eminent domain case, but they said no. "I'm not surprised," said Matthew Dery, one of the landowners who lost his property. "It's even rarer than a blue moon that they do reconsider," he said. Justice John Paul Stevens, who wrote the majority opinion, conceded in a recent speech: "My own view is that the allocation of economic resources that result from the free play of market forces is more likely to produce acceptable results in the long run than the best-intentioned plans of public officials." Believe it or not, New London officials are now trying to collect "back rent" from the seven homeowners claiming they have been living on city property (their own homes) since 2000, and they will only offer what their homes were worth in 2000. The properties are now worth many times that figure and Matt Dery says, "I can't replace what I have in this market for three times [the 2000 assessment]." NLDC is charging Dery over $300,000 in back rent and is demanding $59,000 from Susette Kelo. "I'd leave here broke," said Mrs. Kelo. "I wouldn't have a home or money to get one. I could probably get a large-size refrigerator box and live under the bridge." Multiple states have enacted legislation to combat the Kelo decision. Texas' governor recently signed into law a bill that addresses Kelo stating: Eminent domain for private use is a great threat to Texans' rights."
Justices Won't Reconsider Eminent Domain Ruling
Gov. Perry Signs New Law Protecting Property Rights
Kelo Emboldens California Officials
The Supreme Court's decision to let stand New London, CT.'s land theft has apparently strengthened the resolve of some California County supervisors to try to steal the 17,000 acre Conaway Ranch located near Davis. The ranch, owned by Steve Gidaro and his partners, is a diversified operation that raises rice, wheat and tomatoes and provides habitat for the endangered Swainson's hawk and giant garter snake. "We can do wildlife-friendly farming and conservation and make money at the same time," Gidaro said. The Yolo County Board of Supervisors covet Gidaro's land and want to take it by eminent domain. "It's our land," said socialist Supervisor Mike McGowan. Although Gidaro and his partners have owned the property for 15 years and have given no indication they plan to develop it or sell it, the county has gone to court to force them to fork it over. The county doesn't have the money to buy the property even if it gets a court order and has asked the Rumsey Band of Wintun Indians to loan or grant it $50 million to carry out its insane plan. The Board justifies its land grab plan because it says the owners will not guarantee they will never develop it, but then, neither will the Board.
Daniel Weintraub: Farmland Battle Shows Eminent Domain in Practice
Bush Environment Policies to Blame for Katrina
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wasted no time blaming President Bush as responsible for Katrina, the deadly hurricane that devastated much of the Gulf coast this week. Kennedy, left-wing liberal environmentalist Democrat, said global warming is to blame for the horrific storm that swept through the South leaving death and destruction in her wake. Kennedy wrote in a commentary at HuffingtonPost.com; "The science is clear. This month, a study published in the journal Nature by a renowned MIT climatologist linked the increasing prevalence of destructive hurricanes to human-induced global warming. Kennedy also cited a 2001 memo to President Bush from Haley Barbour, former Republican Committee Chairman, and now governor of Mississippi, advising Bush against going along with any regulation of CO2, saying it smacked of "eco-extremism." Patrick Michaels, University of Virginia climatologist, told Fox News' Brit Hume that global warming had nothing to do with Katrina. An unnamed Democrat had this to say about Kennedy's claims; "So Republicans are now responsible for the hurricanes? I think there's a reason we [Democrats] can't win elections."